George Carlin always had a problem with airline lingo.
The comic icon called out the industry for using such terms as "boarding process," "near miss" and "get on the plane" as opposed to getting in the plane.
DON'T MISS: American Airlines' key rule for passengers faces more scrutiny
Carlin, who died in 2008, also had a strong dislike for the word "deplane" – meaning to exit the aircraft.
"I’ve never deboated, I’ve never debussed, by God, I’ve deplaned," he said. "'We’ll be deplaning through the forward door.' I’m already on deplane."
Deplaning was also a problem for American Airlines (AAL) -), according the U.S. Department of Transportation, which fined the airline $4.1 million for violating federal statutes and DOT’s rule against tarmac delays of three hours or more on domestic flights without providing passengers an opportunity to…deplane.
The DOT said on Aug. 28 that the $4.1 million fine is the largest civil penalty that it has ever assessed for violating its tarmac delay rule. The agency said it had ordered the airline to "cease and desist from violating the law."
Holding airlines accountable
“This is the latest action in our continued drive to enforce the rights of airline passengers,” DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, said in a statement. “Whether the issue is extreme tarmac delays or problems getting refunds, DOT will continue to protect consumers and hold airlines accountable.”
American Airlines said in a statement that "while these delays were the result of exceptional weather events, the flights represent a very small number of the 7.7 million flights during this time period."
The airline said it has committed time and resources to improve its performance on tarmac delays, such as the deployment of Hub Efficiency Analytics Tool (HEAT) to shift arrivals and departures around severe weather to help avoid conditions that can lead to lengthy tarmac delays.
American Airlines also said it had since apologized to the affected customers and regrets any inconvenience caused.
DOT said its investigation found that American kept dozens of flights stuck on the tarmac for long periods of time without letting passengers off.
The DOT said that between 2018 and 2021, American allowed 43 domestic flights to remain on the tarmac for lengthy periods without providing passengers an opportunity to deplane in violation of the Department’s tarmac delay rule.
The agency found that none of the exceptions to the tarmac delay rule, including the safety and security exceptions, applied to those flights. In addition, on one of the 43 flights, passengers were not provided with food and water as required.
Compensating passengers
Most of the delays occurred at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the DOT said, and the tarmac delays affected a total of 5,821 passengers.
Of the $4.1 million assessed, the DOT said that $2.05 million will be credited to the airline for compensation provided to passengers on the affected flights.
Earlier this year, DOT said it initiated new rules aimed at requiring airlines to provide compensation and cover expenses for amenities such as meals, hotels, and rebooking when airlines are responsible for stranding passengers.
After a two-year push to improve the passenger experience, DOT said the 10 largest airlines now guarantee meals and free rebooking on the same airline and nine guarantee hotel accommodations as part of the Department’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard.
Last month, Buttigieg said his office was investigating several airlines for what a spokesperson described as "unrealistic scheduling" — practices that overstate a carrier's ability to service the tickets they sell, which can contribute to flight disruptions, including delays and cancellations.
The aviation industry is short roughly 32,000 commercial pilots, mechanics and air traffic controllers — and the gap widens every year, a CBS News analysis of data from the FAA, U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Labor shows.
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